James
McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe star in VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN,
a dynamic and thrilling twist on a legendary tale.Radical scientist Victor Frankenstein
(McAvoy) and his equally brilliant protégé Igor Strausman (Radcliffe) share a
noble vision of aiding humanity through their groundbreaking research into
immortality. But Victor’s experiments go too far, and his obsession has
horrifying consequences.Only Igor can
bring his friend back from the brink of madness and save him from his monstrous
creation.

The
production made creative use of the storms for one of the film’s iconic scenes,
the creation of the monster, and for its most impressive set: the interior of
the castle and laboratory, where Victor brings his “experiment” to life.

While
inspired by Mary Shelley’s classic novel and the countless interpretations of
that story, screenwriter Max Landis’ “regeneration” focuses on Victor and his
best friend and assistant Igor. In fact,
it’s the first story to be told largely from Igor’s perspective.

Fun
and dangerous, yes, but he’s also, brilliant, obsessed – and a sociopath. As Victor walks a fine light between
lightness and darkness, and between life and death, only Igor can keep him from
a descent into madness from which there’ll be no return. “Victor Frankenstein”
is also, notes James McAvoy, a love letter to the myriad films featuring those
characters and themes. “This film has
many of the familiar elements you expect to see in a Frankenstein movie, but
adds unexpected dimensions of character, relationships and entertainment.”

“Victor
and Igor are at the forefront of scientific and medical research,” notes
McAvoy. “But just because they can cheat
death, should they do it?“I think Victor’s intentions are good,” he continues. “He’s looking to improve the human condition,
which is very fragile. Victor is trying to make it more robust and, ideally,
eliminate death, which has been a human obsession for ages.”

To
McAvoy, a character with such world-changing ambitions would not be a lab rat
holding course at a chalkboard. He’d be
nothing less than a force of nature.
“Victor just doesn’t stop moving.
He’s a creator of machines, as well as of a man, plus a skilled engineer
and an accomplished surgeon.”

“Every
time Daniel and I had a scene together, we’d ask each other, ‘How physical and
dangerous-looking can we make this? Come
on, man!,’” says McAvoy. “We are similar
in energy levels and physical ability, so we just kind of went at each other,
12 hours each day. Adds Radcliffe:
“James is a bold actor and really hits the ground running in an exciting
way. That enabled us to make some
interesting choices together.”

McAvoy
relates that, “Whenever somebody asked me what I was doing at the moment
(during production of “Victor Frankenstein”), I would say, I’m playing
Frankenstein, and they’d reply, ‘You’re a little short to be playing the
monster.’ And I’d correct them and say,
‘No, no, it’s the doctor.’ So, yeah,
we’re giving the name back to Dr. Vic.”

A
pivotal moment for both Victor and Igor is an early scene where Victor straightens
Igor’s hunchback, which McGuigan says is “a metaphor for the entire
movie.” Having rescued Igor from a
London circus, Victor takes him to his flat and within minutes throws Igor
against the wall and produces a massive syringe with which he performs a
lightning-fast medical procedure on his new “patient.” Moments later, Igor’s hunchback is
corrected. “If you think you knew
Victor, the first few minutes of the film will prove you don’t,” says
McGuigan. “He’s dangerous and fun to
watch.”

“Victor
Frankenstein” arrives in theatres this November 25 from 20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.